VW Dave

They changed the packaging/branding in recent months, so it has been harder to spot them. Luckily, we have three Michaels stores within a short drive of home. Repeating what I said in my previous post: PM or email me your snail mail address, and I'll send you a few of those beads for future use.

I don't like it. I LOVE IT!

Needless to say, I like this build a bunch. The merged header looks really good, and those rat's nests of tubing can be difficult to get right(I'm glad my 1:1 Manx has one for reference purposes). Michaels craft stores have bead cones that can make great looking scale stingers: And here's one on my '56 RustoRod: 3men2s - PM or email me your snail mail address, and I'll send you a few of those beads for future use.

My buddy Tom is building a G-gauge railroad layout in his basement, and I've been helping out over the past several years. LGB 'G' is 1:22.5, so it's almost dead-on for what I work in...needless to say, I'm thrilled he likes larger scale trains. For my main contribution to the layout, I get to make a junkyard; when it's all done, there will be about a dozen derelict vehicles in a space that's roughly 2'x3'. As a little joke, I'm including ratted-out versions of our own cars and those of a few friends. Here's the first of several. Our buddy Don has a gorgeous '70 Monte: And here it is, a little smaller....and a lot messier: His LS6 is minus a pair of aluminum heads and the Corvette 'three deuce' setup, so I figure Don's gonna be a little upset. All of my current pics of this wreck are at this link: THE FULL MONTE Also in the works are junked-up versions of my '68 Meyers Manx, Tom's '74 360 Cuda, and another local friend's '69 Charger 500.

I have to disagree on the epoxy comment - If the epoxy isn't thoroughly mixed it won't harden; I've had great results with Devcon and Permatex 5-minute epoxy, and it's probably because I make sure it's very well mixed before pouring. What I've also done is coat the mold with appliance touch-up paint beforehand, to act like gel-coat used in fiberglass layups. It also helps with post-casting cleanup, as the part is not so transparent. JB Weld does indeed make a good media, but it doesn't flow into the mold as well as epoxy does. I've used a small electric clipper to vibrate the mold and help release trapped air bubbles. Another good mold-making product is Woodland Scenics' latex mold compound(formerly known as 'Mountains in Minutes").

As I'll have the missus and little one in tow, I'll be there just for the day on Saturday.

I saw them at a local store tonight, and took a closer look; it seemed strange that the front and sides of the box carried no mention of the scale. The back side of the box has a full list of their available models, and it says "Collect all these 1:24 scale models" above the list.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? I like it a lot, and it was a good call making it shiny and nice.

Ooo....an A12 Bee? One of my favorite Mopars, hands down. Here's a green one I spotted at a local show: And there were two A12 Road Runners racing in the F.A.S.T. class at the same event: I'll be watching this build as it progresses. Looking good so far, James.

I used chalk pastels on this one, and sealed it with very light 'misty' coats of Testors DullCote. The first shot of DullCote almost always washes the pastels out, but I have gotten good results after a second(or third) application: I apply the pastels dry, directly from the sticks, with a makeup brush kit I got at one of our local dollar stores. I even dusted and sealed the Charger's tires using the same method, after drybrushing the white letters with FloQuil acrylic paint: My other favorite - and cheap as free - weathering media is my dirty brush cleaner(Ronsonol lighter fluid). Stir it up really good and brush it on, and after the solvent evaporates the grime is left behind. The grit can be rubbed off easily, so re-doing it is a snap before sealing it in for good - I use my old friend DullCote for that task. I have also mixed up special batches of 'grime' for other folks using lighter fluid and a few drops of Testors' flat black enamel. You can see here how the grime mix actually accents the body's character lines; it looks better in person, as the macro setting on my camera seems to pick up every little grain of grit:

I voted 'real' this time around as well.

And here's where it all started:

What did it start out as? A bad acid trip, IMHO.

"Pocher??? Hardly know 'er." (Had to go there, sorry.) Also had to vote 'model' this time around as well.

T-Bird? Fairlane? I'm guessing it's slathered in Tamiya candy lime green, whatever it is.

I know you already answered your own question, but here's my buddy's '09 Bullitt for reference: '09 BULLITT As soon as spring arrives...which can't happen soon enough IMO....I told Tom we need to shcedule a proper photo shoot of his new toy.

The actual movie car started life as a '73 XA-GT.

You guys keep this up and I'm liable to blush. I'm just glad to give a little something back to the hobby, even if it's just a little courtesy......besides, I realized a long time ago that I'll never get around to all those models I got with good intentions over the years - if somebody else needs something I've got, I'm always glad to help. plastikfreek(Ed) - Trading with you was an absolute joy, and I'll do it again with no hesitation. Brian - We're local and in the same hobby, and we have a fair amount of trading history already; any time I can help you out, count on it. Dave - Putting a face to your name at the NNL East was great, and seeing the ideas that spring forth from your mind onto the bench is simply awe-inspiring. I'd love to see you wrap up the Kelly/Christensen coupe project, after seeing the 1:1 up close and your in-progress replica.

I've never used Evercoat and it's been a while since I used oven cleaner as a stripper, but I do recall it affecting Testors and Tamiya fillers. I'd say plan to re-do the filler, as it may become contaminated/compromised after the stripping process.

Word on the street is about 6-8", maybe a smidge more; I put the "mean wheels" and snow tires on the missus' Jetta today and gassed up the snowblower...we're ready. (pic from a couple of winters ago, but you get the idea)

Like popcorn without butter and salt.

I'll admit that winter here is no picnic....but I wouldn't trade a summer or fall in the northeast for anywhere else.

And here it is after the 2007 Targa Tasmania: Any word on whether the car has been saved or not? I hope so.

Very nice pics indeed; an XB-GT is high on my post-lottery 'wish list' for sure. My friend Mark has 2 XB's here in NY, which makes it very tempting to sell off all my other car stuff and buy an Aussie muscle car. Here's Mark's stock '73 GT, which had a full feature in The Oz 'Street Machine' magazine when he got it: And here's his MM replica, which was the first in the world with a functional blower and Scott FI setup:

As usual, I can't say exactly why....but I voted real this time.